Oh look! Another frenzied, left-of-center 20 Buck Spin release! I kid (or gently chide, as noted in the Civerous review) because, as much as the label may have a “type” (and a “look”) when it comes to their death metal releases, you and I can’t deny that – more often than not – the results are pretty dang spectacular. Case in point: this debut full-length by the wonderfully named Slimelord. Taking the sludgy modern death metal currently in vogue as their foundation, they slather on a whole lot of weirdness throughout Chytridiomycosis Relinquished, and if you thought that title was a mouthful, wait until you get inside the music. This has fast risen up for me as one of the best death metal releases this year, so let’s get into it.

Heavily inspired by video games and dark fantasy from every medium, Chytridiomycosis Relinquished is at heart a concept record, a Lovecraftian tale of horror in a twisted psychedelic world of the band’s making where amphibious gods live in the hollow of the earth, and plague sits over a swampy desolation. It’s definitely cool and well constructed (you can read the narrative in the liner notes), but what’s great is how the music perfectly captures that vibe by flowing in and out of these almost liquid musical sections, unafraid to get truly psychedelic or progressive when the song calls it, or move in the complete opposite direction and become furious and technical.

This back and forth is immediately apparent on the opening track and first single, “The Beckoning Bell”. It opens with field recordings, the sounds of the marsh gradually intensifying until it blends into the opening riffs. And man what an opening riff: queasy and lurching with excellent bass slithering through the swamp and the drums sounding perfect, going almost fusion in some moments. Real, proper solos race across the second half of the track, and it sounds fantastic – very different production from what I’d come to expect from a 20BS release. Taking a look though it shouldn’t be a surprise, as the album was mixed and mastered by Damian Herring of technical death metal soldiers Horrendous, who know a thing or two about making sure every ounce of brutality is crystal clear. There are moments on “The Beckoning Bell” that wind down into the gloom of near-funeral doom, ands other moments where the death becomes such a frenzy it borders on black metal. And then again, you can hear these bass runs that could come out of late 70s Zappa. I can hear why this was the single: it feels like a mission statement from the band.

“Gut-Brain Axis” has the distinction of a killer title and a slightly more straight-forward approach in its riffing, invoking a slow-downed Death but losing none of the intricate technicality in the guitar’s themes before diving into Evoken-style doom. I found myself continually turning up the volume to hear all the little flourishes, like the fretless bass runs and the subtle counterpoints being layered in the guitar mix. Huge props to Xander Bradley and Krystian Zamojski for not only their playing, but their arranging. It’s killer, very different from the opener but just as effective. The final song on Side A, “Splayed Mudscape” has been described by vocalist Andrew Ashford as “straight up Immolation worship” hearing that chainsaw riff under the burbling bubbles of the marsh I can’t say he’s wrong. I love it when a song can be both fast and slow at the same time, and you can’t conceive of how that would work, just listen to this song and you can hear the layers playing against each other. It’s a great, vicious track, maybe the most overt death metal on Chytridiomycosis Relinquished so far.

If you thought the album title was hard to wrap your tongue around, Side B isn’t going to make it easier with leadoff track “Batrachomorpha Resurrections Chamber”. The track goes heavy on the effects, its flanged guitar riffs echoing in one ear while the drums roll along with the punishing low end. I won’t pretend to think I can even remotely understand Ashford’s demonic guttural roar, but it sits nicely in the mix acting as another element to the maelstrom. “The Hissing Moor” has an exotic opening, opening for an almost old time jazz orchestration before you’re flipped on your head with a sawing guitar riff. Then it’s back to mood and ambience, alternating with the more rocking moments. Not something I would ever expect to hear on a death metal record, so even though it might be my least favorite track so far, I still really dig it, you know? Just have to admire the originality.

That leaves the whopping “Tidal Slaughtermarsh” and instrumental closer “Heroic Demise” which hold true to all the left hand curves and stellar execution found on the previous tracks. Despite not really being labelled with the “prog” tag these songs are definitely set up like mini-prog epics, with multiple musical ideas smoothing flowing into each other, themes recurring at different points and exemplary musicianship. All of which puts Chytridiomycosis Relinquished up top for me in terms of death metal I’ve heard so far this year, and Slimelord as an exciting band to follow as they inevitably grow larger.

You can also check out Colin’s review for the album over at Nine Circles here.